We ask the majority of all of our clients this question when they come to our facility to drop their dog off for training. It sounds silly to most clients, they look at you funny, and say of course I’m going to follow through once the dog is home! But we have found that some dog owners have a false since of hope that there dog will come home a push button robot; whether it be a pet dog here for behavior modification, a protection dog, a police dog, or even an autism assistance dog many owner’s must realize the finished results don’t transfer over automatically it’s a gradual thing with consistency and patience. So let’s go over what we mean by expectations of training!
No matter what type of pet dog training you chose, whether it’s in-kennel training, private lessons, in-home training, or even group classes, you have your home work cut out for you! In-kennel clients should understand that just because the dog does all the commands for our dog trainer’s doesn’t mean that will automatically apply to you. Let’s say, for example your dog has had the run of the house the last 2 years, he comes and goes as he pleases, chews up things in your home, lunges at people on a walk, and maybe a little rough when playing with new dogs. You as the pet owner, have allowed that to go on the last 2 years, and that is no big deal, we see it all the time, but when your dog returns home you have to get with the program and apply the rules instantly. This can take several days or even weeks for your dog to realize that “Mom is not putting up with my bad behavior anymore!” And my group class, private lessons, and in-home training clients you are not off the hook either! You will be assigned things to work on between sessions, it’s your job as the pet owner to follow through, and it’s so worth it!
Protection dog clients maybe the worst as far as expectations! They often times purchase a dog that is picked from a vendor in Europe, we ship the dog to our facility, and the owner may or may not even come visit before training begins. We work with the dog for several months in obedience and bite work and deliver the dog to the client’s home. This dog doesn’t know you from Adam; it takes several weeks and sometimes months depending on the dog, for a bond or relationship to take effect. Clients want good social dogs that can do well with kids that perform bite work, then call the first week and say it’s not mean enough! Once the dog understands his home he will guard it to the fullest! This goes back to patience and consistency in training once the dog is in your home! We have a protection dog in the Charlotte area, the owner called after week two and said that his wife has spoiled her so much he didn’t think she would bite a flea! Jason went down to the home did a little decoy work with her and she still had it! Jason explained that she was still settling in to be patient and stick with working obedience daily (this helps with the liability issue that come with a protection dog to work on nice solid obedience). A few weeks later, the owner called and said he had to leave work early and go home, because the cleaning lady had stepped out of the house and their dog would not let her back in! Since then this family has had other positive experiences when the dog performed their job, you just have to give it a chance!
Our Autism Assistance Dog clients probably have the most work do to once the dog arrives. For this simple reason is why we generally stay five days upon delivery of the dog to make sure the transition goes well with the children! Our families already have a tight schedule with school, therapies, and doctor appointments and so on, now they have to learn how to utilize a dog in this chaos! We prepare our clients for the responsibilities that are added with a dog and how they still have to work daily with the child and dog on obedience and structure. Like our protection dog clients we often purchase a dog to fit the family’s needs and they may visit the dog a few times upon delivery, so again it takes a little bit for the dog to settle and bond with your family so be patient it will pay off in the end!
So when asked “What are your expectations of the dogs training?” Your answer should be I understand that your job is to lay the foundation work for my dog, but it’s up to me and my family to properly nurture and mold the finished product with training my dog! Keep expectations realistic, understand that these dogs will not be push button in the beginning, it takes time, with consistency and structure you will get there, and we guarantee it! We are only a phone call away and any of our dog trainer’s will be happy to assist with advice and/or a visit if needed!
We have found that there are some groups out there who train search dogs the only way they know how because they have lack of funds, time, or simply following advice from someone else. We have seen what some groups claim to be certified dogs and/or handlers with no finished alert, no apparent rewards for the dog, and dogs with simply no drive at all. During the years that I have been conducting seminars and certifying Search and Rescue dogs, I have also seen a number of “search and rescue” dogs that were fear agressive, phobic of people, or were scared of vehicles, just ot name a few. The problem is those select groups who choose to train their own way, with little or no success, ruin things for those groups and individuals who work hard, attend classes, seminars, and receive updated information frequently to make sure handler and dog are up to par. I would like to add that if you are a volunteer in hopes of making a hero out of yourself and your dog…..please get out now! (ie. Sandra Anderson and Canine Eagle). Search and Rescue groups are about working as a team many times with people you don’t know very well. Making up excuses for why your dog was wrong or couldn’t pick up a scent (blaming others for your lack of training), sometimes you just have to say, we gave it a shot and did the best we could. There are many resources and certified trainers out there to assist search and rescue handlers and your dogs; you just have to take a look around.